Sample container holder

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a sample container holder for securely holding sample containers of various shapes and sizes. The holder comprises a base having at least one slot extending from an upper portion of the base to a lower portion of the base. The holder further comprises at least one retainer inserted into the slot creating at least a partial enclosed area on the base to accommodate the sample container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a sample container holder, moreparticularly, to a sample container holder that is capable of securelyretaining a sample container and for easily removing the same.

2. Description of Related Art

Sample container holders are known in the art to accommodate samplecontainers such as test tubes, vials, bottles, cylinders etc. commonlyused in laboratories. One such holder 10 is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.Note that often the holder 10 is designed with a receiving area smallerthan a sample container, for example a test tube 12 is often difficultto insert into the holder 10 or remove it from the holder 10 asillustrated in FIG. 1A. On the other hand, the holder 10 maybe designedwith a receiving area larger than the sample container, so that it wouldprovide for easy insertion and/or removal, but do not always ensure thatthe test tube 12 in fact stands securely in the upright position in theholder 10, as illustrated in FIG. 1B. In other words, the test tube 12may tilt and cause spilling of the sample, which may be hazardouschemicals. This is particularly important in order to prevent anyspilling from the test tube 12. As a result, it appears that the samplecontainer holders need to be designed according to the shape and size ofeach of the sample containers, which can be very time consuming andexpensive.

Thus, in order to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, there isa need in the art to provide a sample container holder that wouldsecurely accommodate sample containers of various sizes and shapes.There is also a need in the art of a holder that would provide forinsertion and removal of the sample containers without much effort.There is further need in the art of a holder that would provide forinsertion and removal of the sample containers with the use of only onehand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a sample container holder foraccommodating sample containers of various shapes and sizes.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the sample container holdercomprises a base having at least one slot and at least one retainerinserted at least partially into the slot in a position substantiallyperpendicular to the base for accommodating at least one samplecontainer.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the sample containerholder comprises a base having an upper portion and a bottom portion andat least one retainer permanently attached to the upper portion of thebase in a position substantially perpendicular to the base toaccommodate said container.

In a an another embodiment of the present invention, the samplecontainer holder comprises a base having at least one slot, at leastfirst retainer inserted partially into said slot in a positionsubstantially perpendicular to the base, and at least a second retainerpermanently attached to the base in a position substantiallyperpendicular to the base. The first and second retainers are configuredto accommodate a sample container.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentionedsample container holders further comprise an opening on the base toaccommodate the sample container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will he more readily understood from the detaileddescription of exemplary embodiments presented below considered inconjunction with the attached drawings, of which:

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a sample container holder of prior art.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a sample container holder according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2C, 2D and 2E illustrate sample container holders according toalternate embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 2F and 2G illustrate sample container holder of FIG. 2A havingsample containers.

FIGS. 2H, 2I and 2J illustrate sample container holders according toalternate embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a sample container holder of FIG. 2Aaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3C and 3D illustrate sample container holder of FIG. 3A havingsample containers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a sample container holder configured toaccommodate one more sample containers of various shapes and sizes. Theholder is designed to securely and/or firmly hold a sample container inan upright position and further provide easy insertion and removal ofthe sample container.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict an exemplary sample container holder 20 accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. The sample container holder20 comprises a base 22 having an upper portion 22 a and a lower portion22 b and a retainer 24. Note that FIG. 2A illustrates the top view ofthe base 22 and FIG. 2B illustrates the bottom view of the base 22. Thebase 22 and retainer 24 is preferably made of plastic materials such asPE, PMP, PP, PS etc. However, one skilled in the art would appreciatethat the base 22 and the retainer 24 can be constructed of othermaterials such as wood, fiberglass, metal etc. Note that the base 22 asshown in FIG. 2A and 2B is substantially circular in shape, however, theinvention is not limited to a circular form and may comprise of othershapes, such as rectangular, triangular square, etc.

The holder 20 further comprises one or more slots 26 to engage with aretainer. As an example, FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate four slots 26 a, 26b, 26 c and 26 d, however, the base 22 may comprise of fewer or morethan four slots. For example, the base 22 may preferably include onlyone slot 26. As known to one skilled in the art, the slot 26 may extendfrom the upper portion 22 a to the lower portion 22 b, and preferablyinclude an open end to allow the retainer 24 to be inserted from eitherthe upper portion 22 a or the lower portion 22 b of the base 22. Theretainer 24 is configured to extend perpendicularly to the base 22, Notethat two retainers 24 are shown in the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 2A;however, one in ordinary skill can appreciate that the holder 20 cansecurely hold the container with only one retainer or with more than tworetainers.

Furthermore, note that in the exemplary embodiment as illustrated inFIGS. 2A and 2B, the slots 26 are positioned to partially surroundaround the mid-section of the base 22. However, the slots 26 may beformed at different locations of the base 22 and not necessarilypositioned to surround the mid-section of the base 22. Although, theslot 26 as shown are substantially semi-circular in shape, one skilledin the art can appreciate that the slot 26 may preferably comprise ofother shapes and sizes in order to accommodate retainers of variousshapes and sizes. An exemplary embodiment of different number of slotsand retainers and various other shapes and sizes of slots and theretainers are shown in FIGS. 2C, 2D and 2E. For example, FIG. 2C, showspin holes as slots 26 placed at different locations on the base 22 andHer including retainers 24 (for example three) inserted into the pinholes. FIGS. 2D and 2E also illustrate pin holes as slots 26 havingretainers 24 sized and shaped as a bar inserted into the pin holes 26 a.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the retainer 24preferably includes one or more tabs 25 to engage with the correspondingslots 26 a and 26 b of the base 22, as shown in FIG. 2A. Specifically,the tabs 25 of the retainer 24 are inserted firmly into the slots 26 aand 26 b, thereby partially enclosing the mid-section of the base, asshown in FIG. 2A. In this manner, the retainer 24 forms a partiallyenclosed area 27 and stands securely in an upright positionperpendicular to the base 22 thus configured to securely hold the samplecontainer as will be described below. In the exemplary embodiment asillustrated in FIG. 2A, the retainer 24 partially encloses themid-section of the base; however, as discussed above, based on thedesign of the slot 26, the retainer 24 may preferably completely enclosethe mid-section, or alternatively not form any enclosure.

Specifically, the sample holder 20 of the present invention isconfigured to hold sample containers of various shapes and multiplesizes. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2F, the retainer 24 isinserted into the slots 26 a and 26 b located closer to the mid-sectionof the base 22 to retain a sample container 40 of a smaller size, forexample having a diameter in the range of 10 ml to 40 ml. As shown inFIG. 2F one end 40 a of the container 40 is securely placed at thebottom of base 22 with at least a portion of the body 40 b of thecontainer 40 being supported by the retainer 24. Even though, theretainers 24 as shown supports a portion of body of the container 40,one skilled in the art would appreciate that the retainer 24 can bedesigned to support the entire body of the sample container 24. Notethat the container 40 is securely retained by both the base 22 and theretainer 20 perpendicular to the base 22.

In another example, as shown in FIG. 2G, the retainer 24 is insertedinto the slots 26 c and 26 d located further away from the mid-sectionof the base 22 to retain a sample container 42, of a rather larger size,for example, having a diameter in the range of 50 ml to 100 ml or more.As shown in FIG. 2G one end 42 a of the container 42 is securely placedat the bottom of base 22 with at least a portion of the body 42 b of thecontainer 42 being supported by the retainer 24. Even though, theretainers 24 as shown supports a portion of body of the container 42,one skilled in the art would appreciate that the retainer 24 can bedesigned to support the entire body of the sample container 42. Notethat the container 42 is securely retained by the base 22 and theretainer 20 perpendicular to the base 22.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the at least oneretainer 24 in FIGS. 2A through 20 may be permanently fixed to the base22 or even one of the retainers 24 may be permanently fixed to the baseand the other one inserted into the slot 26 as discussed above.

In accordance with the one embodiment of the present invention, in orderto load a sample container 40, into the base 22, a user simply insertsthe sample container 40 by simply holding on to the top end of thecontainer 40 and placing its bottom end onto enclosed area 27 formed onbase 22 surrounded by the retainers 24. The base 22 including thecontainers 40 and 42 is illustrated in FIGS. 2F and 2G, respectively. Asshown in FIGS. 2F and 2G, the body of the containers 40 and 42respectively are securely held by the retainers in an upright position.If a user wishes to remove the container from the base 22, he or she maysimply hold on to the top end of the containers 40 and 42 and pull themout. Thus, the sample container holder 20 of the present invention,functions to allow easy insertion of the container, firmly supports thesample container in upright position and also provides for easy removalof it.

Although, the exemplary sample container 40 illustrated in FIGS. 2F and2G described above is a test tube, one of the ordinary skill in the artwould appreciate that other sample containers such as a vial, bottle,flask, cylinder, beaker or other types of sample containers typicallyused in a laboratory environment may be used.

In another embodiment of the present invention, in order to accommodatecontainers of different shapes and sizes, slot can be designed toprovide for movement in one or more retainers. This design of such aslot is shown as slots 26 f and 26 g as illustrated in 2H, 2I and 2J ofthe present application. As illustrated in FIGS. 2H and 2I, the slots 26f and 26G are designed to provide some area/space in between for theretainer 24 to easily move from center of the base 22 to outward of thebase 22 or vice versa in order to accommodate containers of varioussizes. As shown in FIGS. 2H and 2I, a tab 25 a of a retainer 24 a isinserted into slot 26 f and a tab 25 b of a retainer 24 b is insertedinto slot 26 g. Both the retainers 24 a and 24 b can easily move fromthe center of the base 22 to the outward of the base or vice versa intheir respective slots 26 f and 26 g. This provides for flexibility ofsecurely placing and holding the container of different shapes andsizes. Alternatively, the base 22 may preferably contain two differentshapes and sizes of the slot 26 as shown in FIG. 2J. In this embodiment,a first retainer 24 a may preferably be fixed to the base 22.Alternatively, the retainer 24 a includes one or more tabs (not shown)inserted into a slot (not shown) similar to the slot 26 a in FIG. 2A orthe slot illustrated as pin hole in FIG. 2D. In this configuration, theretainer 24 a is removable from the base 22. Also, FIG. 2J includes asecond retainer 24 b inserted into a slot 26 g as shown in FIG. 2H, suchthat it is removable. The retainer 24 b is inserted into the slot 26 fsimilar to the slot shown in FIGS. 2H and 2I. As discussed above, theretainer 24 b is movable within the slot 26 f in order to accommodatecontainers of various shapes and sizes

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, there is shown a sample container holder30 similar to the holder 20 of FIG. 2A further comprising at least oneopening 32, in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention. The opening 32 is adapted to engage with at least one end ofthe sample container, as described in greater detail below. While, theopening 32 illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B is of a substantially circularshape, openings may preferably comprise of other shapes and sized inorder to accommodate sample containers of various shapes and sizes.Additionally, the opening 32 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B is formed atthe mid-section/center of the base, however, the opening 32 can beformed at other locations of the base 22. As discussed above, oneskilled in the art can appreciate that the slot 26 may preferablycomprise of other shapes and sizes in order to accommodate a retainer ofvarious shapes and sizes.

Although, not shown, the sample holder 30 of FIGS. 3A and 3B may containdifferent number of slots and retainers, various other shapes and sizesof slots and retainers and other locations of the slots and retainerssimilar to the ones illustrated in FIG. 2C, 2D and 2E.

As described above, in one exemplary embodiment, the retainer 24includes one or more tabs 25 to engage with the corresponding slots 26of the base 22. As shown in shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B the retainer 24partially encloses the opening 32, however, as discussed above, based onthe design of the slot 26, the retainer 24 may preferably completelyenclose the opening 42 or alternatively not form any enclosure aroundthe opening 32.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3C depicts thesample container holder 20 of FIG. 3A with a sample container 40. Inthis example, the retainer 24 is inserted into the slots 26 a and 26 blocated closer to the opening 32 of the base, to retain the samplecontainer 40 of smaller size, for example, having a diameter in therange of 10 ml to 40 ml. As shown in FIG. 3C, the sample container 40,having a flared end 40 a with a pointed tip is inserted into the opening32 of the holder 20 with at least a portion of a body 40 b of thecontainer 40 being supported by the retainer 24. Even though, theretainers 24 as shown supports a portion of body of the container 40,one skilled in the art would appreciate that the retainer 24 can bedesigned to support the entire body of the sample container 40. Notethat the container 40 is securely retained by both the opening 32 andthe retainer 20, perpendicular to the base 22.

In another example, as shown in FIG. 3D, the retainers 24 are insertedinto the slots 26 c and 26 d further from the opening 32 of the base 22to accommodate the container 42 having a diameter in the range of 50 mlto 100 ml. As shown in FIG. 3D, the sample container 42, having a flaredend with a pointed tip 42 a inserted into the opening 42 of the holder20 with at least a portion of a body 42 b of the container 42 beingsupported by the retainer 24 within the partially enclosed area 27. Eventhough, the retainer 24 as shown supports a portion of body of thecontainer 42, one skilled in the art would appreciate that the retainer24 can be deigned to support the entire body of the sample container 42.Note that the container 42 is securely retained by both the opening 32and the retainer 20, perpendicular to the base 22.

In alternate embodiment, the at least one retainer 24 in FIGS. 3Athrough 3D may be permanently fixed to the base 22 or even one of theretainers 24 may be permanently fixed to the base and the other oneinserted into the slot 26 as discussed above.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in order toload a sample container into the base 22, a user simply inserts theflared ends 40 a and 40 b of the containers 40 and 42 respectively intothe opening 32 of the base 22. The base 22 including the containers 40and 42 are illustrated in FIGS. 3C and 3D. As shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D,the body of the containers 40 and 42 is securely held by the retainersin an upright position. If a user wished to remove the container fromthe base 22, he or she may simply hold on to the top of the container 40or 42 and simply pull out the flared end from the opening 32. Thus, thesample container holder 20 of the present invention, functions to alloweasy insertion of the container, firmly supports the sample container inupright position and also provides for easy removal of the same.

Although, the exemplary sample containers 40 and 42 illustrated in FIGS.3C and 3D are test tubes, one of the ordinary skills in the art wouldappreciate those other sample containers such as a bottle, flask,cylinder, beaker etc, typically used in a laboratory environment may beused. Although not shown, the sample holder 20 of FIGS. 3A through 3Dmay also include slots formed in exemplary embodiments shown in FIGS.2H, 2I and 2J in order to accommodate containers of different shapes andsizes as discussed above.

Although various embodiments that incorporate the teachings of thepresent invention have been shown and described in detail herein, thoseskilled in the art can readily devise many other varied embodiments thatstill incorporate these teachings without departing from the spirit andthe scope of the invention.

1. A sample container holder comprising: a base having an upper portionand a lower portion; said base having at least one slot extending fromthe upper portion to the lower portion to include an open end toaccommodate at least one retainer from the upper portion and the lowerportion, wherein said retainer is inserted at least partially into saidslot in a position substantially perpendicular to the base foraccommodating at least one sample container.
 2. The holder according toclaim 1 wherein said at least one sample container is placed on the baseand supported by said retainer in an upright position.
 3. The holderaccording to claim 1 wherein said slot is designed such that theretainer is movable in said slot in order to accommodate said samplecontainers of various shapes and sizes.
 4. The holder of claim 1 whereinsaid slot surrounds a portion of a base and said at least one retainerforms at least a partially enclosed area around said portion.
 5. Theholder according to claim 4 wherein one end of the container is placedon the partially enclosed area and at least a portion of a body of thecontainer being supported by said retainer.
 6. The holder according toclaim 4 wherein said slot is located at a pre-determined distance fromthe partially enclosed area in order for the retainer to accommodate thecontainer of a specific size diameter.
 7. The sample container holder ofclaim 1 wherein said retainer further comprising at least one tabconfigured to be inserted into the slot.
 8. The holder according toclaim 1 further comprising an opening formed on the base.
 9. The holderaccording to claim 8 wherein one end of said container being insertedinto said opening and at least a portion of a body of the containerbeing supported by the retainer.
 10. The holder according to claim 8wherein said slot surrounds at least a portion of said opening.
 11. Asample container holder comprising: a base having an upper portion and abottom portion at least one retainer permanently attached to the upperportion of the base in a position substantially perpendicular to thebase to accommodate said container; and an opening extending from theupper portion to the bottom portion of the base to include an open end,wherein said opening is adapted to engage with said container.
 12. Theholder according to claim 11 wherein said at least one sample containeris placed on the base and supported by said retainer in an uprightposition.
 13. The holder according to claim 12 wherein one end of saidcontainer being inserted into said opening and at least a portion of abody of the container being supported by the retainer.
 14. The samplecontainer holder comprising: a base having an upper portion and a lowerportion; said base having at least one slot extending from the upperportion to the lower portion to include an open end to accommodate atleast one retainer from the upper portion and the lower portion, whereinsaid at least a first retainer is inserted partially into said slot in aposition substantially perpendicular to the base; and said at least asecond retainer is permanently attached to the base in a positionsubstantially perpendicular to the base; wherein said first and secondretainer are configured to accommodate a sample container.
 15. Theholder according to claim 14 wherein said at least one sample containeris placed on the base and supported by said retainer in an uprightposition.
 16. The holder according to claim 14 wherein said slot isdesigned such that the retainer is movable in said slot in order toaccommodate said sample containers of various shapes and sizes.
 17. Theholder of claim 14 wherein said slot surrounds a portion of a base andsaid at least one retainer forms at least a partially enclosed areaaround said portion.
 18. The holder according to claim 17 wherein oneend of the container is placed on the partially enclosed area and atleast a portion of a body of the container being supported by saidretainer.
 19. The holder according to claim 17 wherein said slot islocated at a pre-determined distance from the partially enclosed area inorder for the retainer to accommodate the container of a specific sizediameter.
 20. The sample container holder of claim 14 wherein saidretainer further comprising at least one tab configured to be insertedinto the slot.
 21. The holder according to claim 14 further comprisingan opening formed on the base.
 22. The holder according to claim 21wherein one end of said container being inserted into said opening andat least a portion of a body of the container being supported by theretainer.
 23. The holder according to claim 21 wherein said slotsurrounds at least a portion of said opening.
 24. A sample containerholder comprising: a base having at least one slot; and at least oneretainer inserted at least partially into said slot in a positionsubstantially perpendicular to the base for accommodating at least onesample container, wherein said slot is designed such that the retaineris movable in said slot in order to accommodate said sample containersof various shapes and sizes.